1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to snow plows, and more particularly concerns a dolly adapted to support, transport and adjustably align a snowplow blade while dismounted from a plowing vehicle.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Snow plows are generally comprised of a horizontal elongated arcuate blade having an A-frame yoke support assembly which is engaged by a mounting bracket upon the plowing vehicle. The yoke generally has attachment means for a hydraulic lifting unit which is adapted to raise and lower the blade, thereby contacting the roadway and controlling the depth of swath plowed.
Numerous dollies have been disclosed in the prior art for supporting various types of agricultural, construction and industrial equipment, including snow plow blades. For example, U. S. Pat. No. 3,941,400 to Buttner discloses a dolly for a plow or other utility attachment having a connection yoke. It is comprised of an triangular horizontal framework having three wheels, a blade receiving member, and a vertically adjustable yoke supporting member. The Buttner dolly is adapted to be positioned beneath a suspended plow blade. The blade is then lowered upon the receiving member, and the yoke support is then raised to a position supporting the yoke. The plow blade may then be disconnected from its mounting brackets. The yoke may then be lowered to a position which is more stable for transport and storage. The position of the blade receiving member is located at one extremity of the dolly which, along with a three wheeled design, creates an unstable base for a plow. This may be quite dangerous, particularly in the case of larger blades which may weigh over 650 pounds. Moreover, the lifting mechanism consists of a pair of lifting screw means. Adjustment of yoke height by a single individual requires small incremental adjustments alternating between the two screw means in order to preclude tipping of the dolly. This process is time consuming and contributes to the instability of the design.
Another snow plow dolly is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,572,531 to Elia. This dolly suffers from similar design inadequacies to that of the Buttner dolly. Specifically it is comprised of a three wheeled base of T-shaped configuration. The plow blade rest, at the forward extremity, could allow the blade to tip forward when raised. The yoke supporting means consists of a bracket which is bolted to the base and is difficult to adjust. The user would have to reach under the A-frame in order to access the bolts. Even then some external lifting means would be necessary. Furthermore, both the aforesaid dollies present a small footprint area relative to the plow thereby contributing to an unstable condition.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a plow blade dolly adapted to store and transport a dismounted snow plow blade.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a dolly of the aforesaid nature which provides a stable base of support.
It is a further object of this invention to provide a dolly of the aforesaid nature having a yoke supporting means which may be easily height-adjusted.
It is yet another object of this invention to provide a dolly of the aforesaid nature which is durable, capable of accommodating snow plow blades of varied design, and amenable to low cost manufacture.
These and other beneficial objects and advantages will be apparent from the following description.